Rooovjnci seance on the Gil p. For oat 



On the Cila National Forest of southwestern New 

 Mexico, reconr-c.iasance in the usually park-like woods of 

 the liogollon Lloun tains is interacting!/ different, from 



>:h work in the denser forests of the Trinity. The 

 :-:cEollon3 present tvro main sorts of woods, the mesa forest 

 of western yellow -.ine on comparatively level land, and 

 the forest of DoUglM fir, ISngelmann cpruca and white fir 

 of the hi^h llogollona, whero there are stoep elopes, clif Ts 

 and canyons. 



As the region is practically unourveyed, a base 

 line wao run from an established section corner with compaao 

 and chain, by a crew of four. This advanced through the 

 territory to be estimated by whatever route the topography 

 and location o? the timber made desirable and was roughly 

 plotted as it progressed, by figuring latitudes and depart- 

 ures in the field, with a traverse table. The entire 

 course was blazed on both sides of the line, and at twenty 

 chains of actual advance, north or south, or oast or west, 

 as the ce.ae night be, stations were established on the 

 middle lines oast and west or north and south, of the various 

 tiers of forties. These stations were marked by stakes 

 inscribed with the number of chains of distance to the 

 nearest boundary of the forty, the designation of the forty, 

 and often tho elevation as read by the aneroid of the base 

 line crew. The stakes were made moreconsplcuous with pieoee 

 of red cloth, and wore also numbered consecutively in eaoh 

 separate township. 



The ostimating, mapping, and sllvloal work, was 

 lone by one mzui crews. An estimator would be asoigned two 

 stakes and a run in a given direction from them. with a 

 Forest Service compass, Jacob staff, aneroid and special 

 note boolt, ho wovla start from one stake, run out through 

 the center of a line of forties, say to some divide, offset 

 t?/enty chains to the center of the adjoining tier of forties, 

 and run back to check in on his second stake. Dy means of 

 his compass and aneroid, he sketched in on the plat repreoonting 

 the forties of a section on one page of his note book, the 

 streams, ridges, end other topographic details, along with fifty 

 foot contour lines. On the opposite page he filled in 

 corresponding e~aces v.-ith his estimates, and, at the ond of 

 his work on any one section, wrote a brief silvical description 

 of what he had seen of the section as a whole. 



The estimate of the timber was obtained by taking 

 from one to three sample acres in a forty. These might be 

 strip acres, on*) chain wide by te-n long, or two chains wide 

 by five long, or a circular acre. In any case the number 



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